Killer Bees edge Jackalopes on Tuesday, 2-1

Odessa Jackalopes 1 @ Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees 2 (SO) – In a classic goaltending duel, it was Rio Grande’s Olli Kalkaja who made 21 saves through regulation and overtime and then stopped all five shooters in the shootout to help the Killer Bees edges the visiting Jackalopes on Wednesday, 2-1. Odessa goalie Eric Hancock was equally as good in the loss, making 29 saves and stopped all but one shooter.

Rio Grande had outshot Odessa 9-4 in each of the first two periods, but Hancock was equal to the task. It would be Odessa who would strike first as midway through the 3rd period Matt Beranek would score his 3rd goal of the season with an assist to Jake Kreutzer. Six minutes later however, Killer Bees leading scorer Ben Greiner would answer with his 17th goal of the season tying the game at 1-1 with assists to RJ Burns and Sean Mostrom.

In the shootout, it took until the very last shooter as Anthony Croston found himself alone on Hancock with the game in the balance. The left-handed shooting forward came in the from the left side and fired a shot low to the stick side that slipped past Hancock for the game-winner.